318ti with blown engine for $350

[e.will]

My friends little brother just blew the engine in his 318ti and is about to scrap it for $350. I work at a body shop that does a lot of work on bmw's and has made me really want one. The body is in near perfect shape but the california top doesnt work, nor does the passanger window and the exhaust has some leaks. Also it wears the inside of the front tires pretty fast he was saying.

I really want to jump on this after reading about the m3 swaps because that would replace exhaust, probably suspension, and obviously the issue with the engine.

What am I getting into here? How easy is it to find parts and if someone could ball park what I would be looking at spending here so I could make a decision on this car. I'm not asking for exact numbers or anything just some numbers to go from for a guy trying to plan his first major project car. thanks.

[e.will]

sorry for posting this I just founf what I'm looking for.

[cooljess76]

Hey e.will, welcome to the site. Sounds like a good deal for a cali-top ti. There's a little plastic gear that is known to strip out on the cali top. The window regulators are a common issue, but there's a good writeup on how to fix them located in the knowledge base section. As for the motor swap, GO FOR IT! It's pretty straight forward. I'm guessing since it has a cali-top it's a '96 or newer which would make it OBDII. You could pick up a wrecked '96+ M3 or 328 for a couple grand and have just about everything you need. The ti's engine compartment is identical to the e36 sedan, so the motor drops right in.

[lazoh]

Nice find and if you decide to get the car and to the swap, post it on the engine swap section. Welcome by the way.